to not answer door to any more trick or treaters?

[Celeriacacaca]

First knock on the door tonight and there were 22, yes 22, children with a group of adults. Who does this? Are there coach loads of people trick and treating these days? Surely you split up into little groups. I'd stocked up on loads of sweets (two tubs of Celebrations, multibags of Haribos and three bags of toffees) but cannot believe it that they took handfuls each and cleaned us out completely. May as well have just given them the bowl too. Not one word of thanks from the kids or parents. Fuckers.

There are teenagers in the park at the back of my house with eggs and flour. They are obviously not people i want to answer the door to! Have given some sweets to little ones though. However, one group not even dressed up? What parent takes their kids (about 6yo i guess) trick or treating with no costume???

DH will take the sweets to work to save me from myself.

I bet on Monday morning, offices everywhere are stacked with mini packs of Maltesers and Haribo.

We had a large group but they were well supervised and polite. Next time try handing out individual sweets to each child so temptation doesn't get the better of them.

We've had loads of huge gangs bit they've all been very polite and only taken one each.
I like it because it reminds me of when mine were little. We'd take turns each year to have a party and then trick and treat afterwards.

hesterton I have hugely slipped up. I got a big tub because it was cheap rather than the Haribo I normally get which I can take or leave. I have massive bowl filled with lovely chewy things...

I am happy to live down a long, unlit, unmade up road. But I wouldn't give any grabby kids anything anyway.

Bah pumpkin.

We only get them round us if you put decorations out. All ours have been almost comically polite, taken one chocolate, said thank you AND my pumpkin has had a few compliments! At this rate I'm going to be eating most of the chocolate myself!

I don't think you're being U, though. If you're cleaned out and have been put off by that madness, then fair enough. I think I'd do the same!

I lived in a flat before so this is my first year of dealing with trick or treaters.

Let them choose from the bowl. Worked well with young children whose parents were with them. Didn't work at all with the 8-12 demographic who were all rude little shits.

The teenagers (who have yet to appear, probably at the park drinking wkd) can all piss off. And if they egg my house they'll find themselves being chased by a small, quite angry, ginger dog

We have large groups in our area, but that's because the residents association organised it. The kids go out in 4 big groups at set times and then the elderly residents (who organise most of this because they love seeing the kids dressed up) can open their doors without nerves and also lock up once the last group is gone. It also means the groups know which doors to knock and which to avoid. It's pretty frowned upon to let your kids out outwith the group, which some people don't like, but I quite like it. The RA are a PITA with various things, but this one really works. It does mean you get 20/25 kids a time though, but better that than all of them knocking the door every 2 minutes!

Dammit - answered a knock on the door thinking my son had forgotten something and 2 trick or treaters there, so I had to sacrifice two of my walnut whips (all I had). Hope they don't have nut allergies. They knocked even with all the curtains drawn and no decorations up.

Have printed the notice out and stuck it on the door now (cut the police bit off though).

We got home late today and needed to make dinner bang on ultimate trick or treating time. So I blew up the Halloween balloons, put up some decorations outside and placed the bowl of treats outside with a 'sorry, busy house no knocking' poem Kids have been very good so far at taking only 1 (we can hear them talk) and not handfuls.

Going to bring the bowl in in a moment as we're putting DS to bed but I've had a look and there's still loads in there! Oh well, refreshers and wham bars for me this evening!

I'm really not a fan of Halloween for various reasons. I don't answer the door and have put a note up saying not to disturn the sleeping baby... really though, the door sends my dogs crazy and I don't fancy that 20 odd times tonight. I've bought my girls a bag of sweets, we've done face painting etc too so they don't feel like they've missed out. We've doled out sweet years before and found most to be rude so I refuse to do it again!

ahahha... OP I'm in same boat.

First ring on doorbell. DH answers in scary mask. 10 little scary ghosts there.

'three each' he says offering bowl.

They all grab MASSIVE HANDFULS.

We are now fretting that if two more groups like that turn up they'll be offered raisins from the baking supplies.

it's been busier than ever this year, guess it is saturday end of half term so everyone back home and very mild.

i just put a few mini bags of haribos in my pumpkin bowl - i find if it is full they take loads. just 6 or 7 at a go so they take one

very polite here, all "happy halloween" and "thank you" and they only knock if you have a pumpkin or some decoration

not like in my day where we terrorised the neighbourhood

All the lights to the front of my flat are out intercom is off. Guisers are onto plums

It's quite good here, in that the 'decorated houses only' rule holds (and we extinguish the pumpkins once our supplies have gone).

I bought in multipack sweeties from Wilkos for the occasion, and shoved the whole lot in the washing up bowl and let callers help themselves. Only one took the piss by scooping a lot of chocolate.

My DC are a bit older now, and only the youngest has gone out with friends to T&T. Though I suppose the elder two might fit some in round the rugby party and cinema trip that they're off doing this evening.

None here - we have Percy Pigs and mini Mars Bars and will have to eat them all ourselves. What a shame.

I bought a couple of bags of multipack m&ms and some lollies. It's our 1st halloween in new flat so don't no whether any kids will knock,non so far. Munchies for me ??

We never get anybody knocking! There's a bowl of treats here, but I can almost guarantee we will be eating them ourselves over the next few weeks.

Been alright here. Have had about six groups, the largest of which had 6 or 7 children. Everyone's taken one sweet each and said thank you. Took the decorations down and shut the curtains when we sat down for dinner and no one else has knocked so far.

Better than our first year here (about 7 years ago) when someone egged our living room window. Later a couple teenagers who hadn't even dressed up knocked the door. Once they'd grabbed handfuls of sweets they shouted down the road to all their friends who did the same.

FFS, we have NO Halloween decs up, am trying to get the toddler to bed, and the door has gone about half a dozen times. We have no sweets in, and I'm getting abuse for not joining in! (I wouldn't have answered the door, but the fuckers just kept knocking last time I tried that, since the older 2 kids have got lights on downstairs.)

It's sweet in our village. Only decorated houses are visited. Groups of no more than about 6 kids with parents hanging back.
I get my trident out and tell them to take one thing each. They say thank you and I wish them a nice evening.

Most children go to the village school so we know them by face if not name.

I think it's nice once a year.

Oh dear! We've just hosted a lovely party, with lots of children, with games etc. then they went trick or treating. I see it as wishing all my neighbours happy Halloween like happy Christmas, or the annual sweet swap.

It's only nice if the kids are nice (and their parents if they are with them).